Hi,my floors in my house are sloping going to back of the house.I estimate to be around 2 inch sag possibly 3.The sag is indeed in the middle.We had repairs done to the deteriorated sills and they were replaced,2 long sections of the beam.The contractor obviously did not know what he was doing because the floors are still the same and we were out half the expense of 3k,which he wanted upfront.The sag is worser because the contractor moved a pier or post that was under the beam(kitchen area) and put it directly under the bathroom joist.Things were settling afterwards and doors were getting stuck and staying that way for maybe a week at different intervals.I will like to jack it myself.I was informed to take sills and nail together for beam to spread load out(under joist) and put one on both sides(middle of floor) of the sagging area with bottle or screw jacks at both ends and lift it.Is this correct? do both beam at same time? post stay in place?
700 sq ft, 25x27 dimensions, tell how?
2007-02-20 04:17:31 · 4 answers · asked by sheila_8276 1 in Home & Garden ➔ Do It Yourself (DIY)
Looks like you had a renovator who doesn't know anything about building. I work for a home builder in Edmonton and renovated my own home. The answer is going to cost dollars....and will require deconstruction. As a general rule....stuctural posts can NEVER be relocated with out doing substainial structural reworking. They are in certain locations for a reason. Having said that....this is what you will have to do.
The loading on the beam is past what it can withstand and is deflecting past its limits. Eventually it will get worse until it becomes intolerable (probably will never break- but will render the home unhabitable). That portion of beam will have to be removed. You cannot just "scab" on another peice. If the beam is overloaded....so are the columns most likely. Scabbing on doesn't generally work, teleposts have steel plates the beam sits on, the new scabbed peice won't be bearing on anything...making it of limited usefellness. You will have to place temporary stuctures on either side of the beam to hold the floor in place will the beam is replaced. These walls are temporary only, the slab is not designed to take a sustained load in that spot, and over time will crack and settle. You will need 2 telepost (adjustable - do not use lumber posts) and a jack-all (i used a car jack - worked quite well). Minimum 2 plys (depending on spans - can be sized by your supplier) for a engineered beam material, either LVL, Ganglam or Parallam. Each is usually available in 9 1/2", 12" and 14" depths. A good comparison is a 3-2x10 beam can be replaced with a 2-91/2" ganglam. If you are unsure....add a 3rd ply or go one size deeper. The beam removal needs to be done in one day...do not space it out, it is not a one man job. Get a chainsaw and saw out the failing portion, install the new teleposts and beam. This is done with brute force and awkwardness. Once the beam is in place, run a string line from one end of the main house beam (not just the new portion) to the other end. This will be your guide to find out level. Now crank your adjustable posts up until level is found. If the span is quite large.....you may want to consider putted steel plates under your teleposts to disperse some of the weight, unless you want to bust through the floor and put in a proper conc. pad. The new teleposts need to be next to existing teleposts, underneath the existing teleposts is a conc. pad....the rest is just a thin conc slab that is not designed to take a load on it.
I'm sorry you got bad renovator....Good luck i hope it all works out.
2007-02-20 06:41:39 · answer #1 · answered by D. T. 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
We had a similar situation, prev. owners removed a wall downstairs creating a 26x16 living room. Upstairs started caving in. We found nothing on the internet to help us plan and got different ideas from 5 different contractors. Dont do this yourself. Here's some advice and that you may not get elsewhere....
A. If you're going to do anything yourself, do the easy, messy demo work to save $. Demo the ceiling, at least near the beam. Expose it so a contractor can get a better idea of what (beam/floor joists) etc are in there now. (We had a bowed micro-lam, 2 drop ceilings to plow through and ended up with 2 extra feet of ceiling height when we were done). It took us about 2 weeks and cost about 100 to rent a moving truck and dump debris. It would have cost an extra 1400 for contractor to do it.
C. Get an architect in after you can see the damage. The more they can see, the less they have to visit (they charge per visit). Make sure they take pics the FIRST time they're there. Also shop around, we got our first archtiect quote for 3600, then another for 900.
B. Get permits - this covers you with the town and if you ever sell your house, it is valuable to have certified proof you did this and you did it right. Permits require architectural drawings and an estimate from your contractor. If the town sees you doing work without a permit they can fine you... like 2k /day. Scary. I got a demo permit for about $30 and the construction permit for $100.
C. Get an itemized quote from the contractor, we saved a ton doing our own demo work and getting the steel (beam and posts) directly from a welder. A welder usually has the tools, truck, rig, crane to lift large beams where a contractor has to rent them (and charge you). Ours also knew how to install it all and even stuck around to help get it in.
D. Account for any electrical work you might need or want while the walls/ceiling are open. We had knob & tube wiring to remove to pass inspection and also put in recessed lighting for the heck of it.
E. Plan time and $ for extras such as framing, sheetrock, debris removal, insulation etc. Have a LOT of patience and wear masks during demo.
We love our big living room now! But looking back, there's no way we could have done this ourselves!
2007-02-20 06:31:34 · answer #2 · answered by kad 1 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Teleposts Edmonton
2017-02-20 12:23:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Hopeful no one with a good answer will reply. Something like this needs to done by a professional. Sorry you got taken by the last one but if you have no idea what your doing your just asking for more trouble and possible injury. I like to do a lot of things myself but on certain jobs it is best left to those who do it or have done it.
2007-02-20 05:11:20 · answer #4 · answered by Alex 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋